The Dodo Archive

Dog Escapes, Walks 20 Blocks To Visit Her Human In The Hospital

In a stunning display of love and loyalty, a dog who ran away from home was found hours later in a place she'd never been before - the hospital where her human companion is a patient.

It had been a week since Nancy Franck had seen her two beloved miniature schnauzers, Sissy and Barney, after complications from cancer surgery prolonged her stay at Mercy Medical Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. For Sissy, that wait was apparently long enough.

Franck's husband, Bucko, told Iowa Public Radio that he had put the two dogs out early Friday morning to work on a broken furnace at the house. After calling them back inside, he realized that Sissy was missing. "Scared to death," he searched frantically for the dog, enlisting the help of his daughter, Sarah Wood. There was still no sign of Sissy.

His worries were soon put to ease by a phone call from the unlikeliest of places. Sissy had been found safe and sound, 20 blocks away inside of Mercy Medical Center.

"I didn't believe [my dad] at first, but it's not something you make up," Wood told the radio station. "She activated the motion detecting doors, two of them, and got into the lobby."

With that worrisome mystery solved, Wood drove to the hospital, where she was able to convince the security guard who found Sissy to allow the dog to pay Franck a visit.

"We could only stay and few minutes, but I think she enjoyed every second of that few minutes," said Wood.